One Screen at a Time

Tired of scroll bars and scroll wheels? Looking for a quick way to move through an MS Excel worksheet without the mouse? Maybe something a little quicker than the “one row or column at a time” method the arrow keys have to offer?

Well then, we’re all in luck, because that’s just what I have to offer today.

Many of you know that the Page Down key will move your cell selection one screen downward. (What I mean by “screen” is that if your program screen displays rows 1 through 28, after hitting the Page Down button, you should have rows 29 to 56 displayed. Whatever amount your program window can display is exactly how many rows you’ll move down. So, a program window maximized will display more and move further down each time than a window open to a smaller size).

In the same vein, the Page Up key will move your cell selection one monitor screen upward.

But how in the world do you get the same type of movement moving left and right through the columns?

It turns out there’s only one extra key you need to keep in mind when looking to have Excel jump columns.

And, that one little key is the Alt key.

When you combine Alt + Page Down, you’ll move the selected cell one screen to the right. (If you currently see columns A through P, then after one Alt + Page Down selection, you’ll see columns Q through AF).

Need to move back one screen?

Try Alt + Page Up.

Yep, that’s really all there is to quick mouseless jumping through your worksheets. Lovers of keyboard shortcuts: it’s time to rejoice!